State Budget Aids Public Hospital Systems but Much More Support is Needed to Stabilize Operations, Preserve Health Care Access
(OAKLAND, CA) – Katie Rodriguez, Interim President and CEO of the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (CAPH), and Riko Mendez, Chief Elected Officer of SEIU Local 521, released the following statements in response to the State Legislature’s inclusion of $250 million in the state budget to help California’s 17 public hospital systems facing nearly $3 billion in annual losses from H.R. 1.
Katie Rodriguez, Interim President and CEO of CAPH:
“H.R. 1 creates a giant crack in our health care system and millions of Californians will fall into it without bold action from Sacramento. We are thankful lawmakers are taking action to soften the destabilizing effects of these unprecedented federal health care cuts, especially Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens (D-Silicon Valley) who tenaciously fought for the funds to support us. This state investment in public hospital systems is an important first step in what will be an ongoing challenge to prevent California’s health care system from being torn apart. We appreciate that lawmakers delayed proposals that would have further strained our finances, such as reductions to clinic payments. However, the proposed state budget will still dig us into a deeper financial hole. That’s why we urge the inclusion of our full $500 million request in the final budget agreement with Governor Newsom.
“Without ongoing state support, public hospital systems will be forced to confront a future of multi-billion funding losses. If we cut services, they disappear. No one is waiting in the wings to establish a burn unit or to train the state’s doctors. This means facility closures, longer patient wait times and commutes for care, more preventable illness and death, and higher costs we all pay. The actions our leaders take will decide if the health care crisis induced by H.R. 1 is prevented or felt for a generation.”
Riko Mendez, Chief Elected Officer, SEIU Local 521:
“On behalf of tens of thousands of public hospital frontline service providers across the state, we thank lawmakers for supporting public hospitals. Essential health care infrastructure and its workers need state support to survive the health care crisis caused by H.R. 1. Californians need their leaders to stand up and fight to preserve health care access. Public hospitals are the backbone of health care in this state, which is why we are calling on the Governor and lawmakers to save lives and protect care in the communities we serve by supporting the entire request for a $500 million investment to stabilize our health care system.
“State leaders must ensure California cares for its people by keeping the doors of public hospitals open. Public hospitals are mission-driven, caring for people regardless of their ability to pay and regardless of whether they have coverage. Our ability to continue serving the most vulnerable — children, the elderly, the unhoused — is critical to the entire health care system functioning. Whether you have private insurance or you’re on Medi-Cal, this matters to you. Every single elected official in California must take this seriously — half measures are not enough when the health of millions of Californians is on the line.”